Multiple Personalities in Disorder
by konarciq
Summary: A "Fruta de la Pasión" fanfic, published with the approval of the original author Hetep-Heres to fill in a bit of the gap between her chapters 87 and 88. Diego's double life was already complicated. But now that he has consented to Victoria's "project", a second secret life has been added to the mix. How is he going to juggle his three lives without being found out by either party?
1. Chapter 1

_Note: This story is a fanfic for Hetep-Heres's epic "Fruta de la Pasión". I highly recommend you read that first, before you try your hand at this one, since I'm dropping into the story in between her chapter 87 and 88, so you'll understand that a_ lot _has happened before this snippet takes place!_

 _This story was born from a private discussion between the author and myself, on how Diego would manage to juggle yet another secret life. I have no idea how far it is going to extend, but since there is a six months gap between chapter 87 and 88 where we imagined events like this to take place, obviously I have a little leeway to come up with some interesting snippets. I will try to stay as faithful as I can to the original story and not mess up whatever Hetep-Heres still has in stock for us, but I hope you'll forgive me if one of her new plots contradicts what I make up here. After all, it's *her* story, not mine, and I have as little idea what else she has in store for us as you have. I'm eagerly looking forward to find out!_

 _But rest assured that this story has been written and now published with the full approval of Hetep-Heres herself._

 _So here it is:_

.

 **Multiple Personalities in Disorder**

 _A Fruta de la Pasión Fanfic_

 _._

"Don Diego," Victoria began as they were both getting dressed, each on their own side of her bed. "Would you mind coming in the evening sometimes, too? After closing time?"

Diego looked up. "You mean... for this?"

"Yes. Staying the night for it."

He frowned. Staying out for siesta was one thing – there were plenty of excuses to explain away his absence from the hacienda for an hour or two in the afternoon. And it wasn't as if he was a novice at coming up with excuses. But still... staying the night? On one hand, he'd love to of course, but there were other things to consider. Zorro for starters.

"I love our siestas together, I really do," Victoria was saying. "But it's always..." She bit her lip. "You do enjoy it, too, don't you? Our..."

His broad smile immediately erased the sudden anxiety from her face. "Oh yes, I do. I do enjoy it. And very much so," he assured her.

She returned his smile. "But we always have so little time at siesta," she lamented. "Wouldn't it... I don't know... be more _effective_ if we could keep at it for a whole night?"

His eyebrows shot up. "A whole night?! Are you sure you're up to that?" To be honest, he wasn't so sure _he_ was. Physically, that is, despite his body's being in prime condition thanks to Zorro. But as much as he revelled in making love to her, it was a surprisingly exhausting exercise.

"I don't know," she replied hesitantly – well, at least she was honest about it. "But we can well try, can't we?"

"Sure. Trying probably won't hurt." Even if it meant a lot of organization on his part. How, for example, was he going to manage if Zorro needed to appear while he was in the middle of nocturnal love-making with Victoria?

She gave him another of those radiant smiles of hers. "Good. How about... say, next Wednesday?" And at his surprised look, she elaborated, "There is something I need to take care of. To make sure that we won't be disturbed."

"Ah... Oh!" The penny dropped. Of course! He only just held back his grin. For it was true: Victoria occasionally received nocturnal visits from her masked lover. Her masked lover whom she had _not_ told about this secret deal with Diego. So what was she planning to do? Grab Toronado's reins the next time he came rushing through the pueblo and tell him – him-Zorro – to stay away from her from now on? Considering Zorro's unpredictability, that didn't strike him as a foolproof plan for her own peace of mind for Wednesday night. (Even if of course it was physically impossible to begin with for him-Zorro to visit her while she was in bed with him-Diego.) He'd better go and see her as Zorro before Wednesday then. Who knows – this might be the beginning of the end of her relationship with her hero...

"Wednesday then?" Victoria repeated as she got up.

"Wednesday night," he confirmed. "I'll do my best to get away. And..." He smiled mischievously. "A few siestas before that, I hope?"

"Definitely." She took his hand for a moment and squeezed it. "Thank you, Don Diego. You're a real good friend."

* * *

Back in the _Guardian_ 's office a few minutes later, Diego took out Señor Estómago's column. Neither spelling nor grammar were Mendoza's forte, but he knew what he was talking about and the people of Los Angeles loved his column. It just took some thorough proofreading and editing each week before the article was ready to be set in type.

But he found it hard today to concentrate on Mendoza's scribbles. It was Victoria's request of course to stay the night. How was he going to organize that, without raising everybody's suspicions? And Felipe's suspicions in particular?

His father had never noticed his constant nocturnal absences when he was out riding as Zorro, so there was no reason to expect that he'd start noticing now.

But Felipe?

Felipe was aware of practically all Zorro's comings and goings. And of Diego's, for that matter. Acutely observant as the boy was, Diego had already intercepted a puzzled glance or two these past weeks as he came back from his siestas with Victoria. It wouldn't take much more for the young man to start asking questions – questions he had no intention of answering just yet.

So Felipe was the first obstacle to avoid. And in order to lull the boy into thinking nothing was out of the ordinary, he'd have to act perfectly normal that night. And to Felipe, Diego staying out all night was perfectly normal indeed – as long as he did it as Zorro. Which meant he'd have to leave the hacienda as Zorro that night, and then change back to Diego before he reached the pueblo to go and see Victoria. And have Toronado hide somewhere close to town with all of Zorro's paraphernalia, just in case Zorro would be needed that night.

Question was: if that should be the case, then how was he going to explain his leaving to Victoria? The realistic fear of discovery in case the lancers would come and search the tavern for Zorro? But what kind of excuse was that when Zorro hadn't even appeared yet?

He let out a sigh. Life had already been pretty complicated with just him-Zorro and him-Diego. With his him-Secret-Father-to-Be added to the mix, the old complications simply seemed to multiply at every new development. As a matter of fact, hadn't he come across something like that back at the university? An essay or something, about people who thought they were more than one person?

He allowed himself a grim chuckle. If anyone fit that bill, he did. He'd have to try and recall the name of the author of that paper, and see if he could get hold of it. Who knows – a better understanding of his problem might even help him keep all his different lives straight...

* * *

Siesta time was officially over. But no one was banging on the door yet, so Victoria felt no remorse about keeping her doors locked a little longer.

She was standing in her room, deep in thought, staring out the window. For having Don Diego stay all night was a wonderful prospect in the light of their... um... _project_ , but what if Zorro chose that very night to come and pay her a visit again? And find her in bed with Don Diego of all people – both of them starknaked and in the middle of doing the deed? She didn't even want to contemplate the many painful, embarrassing and maybe even dangerous scenarios that could veer off from that point. Better avoid that nightmare altogether. And since she couldn't count on Zorro to show himself in private before Wednesday, she'd just have to make sure he wouldn't be able to enter her bedroom if he did come that night.

Which was easier said than done. Locks barely seemed to slow him down, and with his phenomenal agility, he could probably find twenty different ways to get into her bedroom. _Not_ a good idea when she was having Don Diego in her bed...

So if there'd be no chance to talk to him before Wednesday (and she sure wasn't looking forward to _that_ particular talk...), she'd have to make him understand in another way that she didn't want to see him in her bedroom that night. Maybe not even in the tavern. But no, she couldn't ask that of him. If he needed to take refuge, her door would always be open for him. He could hide here as long as he wished – just not in her bedroom next Wednesday night.

Perhaps she could put up a message somewhere that night. Somewhere where no one but he would see it. Where he usually entered the tavern for example. But that could be anywhere: over the years, he had entered by the back door, the kitchen window, the balcony, the window to the cellar, her bedroom window, any of the guest rooms, and even the front door... Actually, she was half and half waiting for him to make a spectacular entrance down the chimney one night. He certainly was crazy enough for it!

She sighed – a wistful little sigh. Life would never be dull with Zorro at her side. But would that life ever come?

No. She had waited long enough. Of course she would keep waiting for him – after all, she loved him and he loved her. And a promise is a promise – for heaven's sake, they were engaged to be married! She'd just have to make him understand that while waiting for him, life itself was passing her by, and she didn't want to end up totally empty-handed by the time he'd finally be able to remove his mask. It had nothing to do with her love for him – that love was true, and steady. Don Diego was just a good friend. He was just doing her (and himself) a favour. And Zorro, too, for that matter: he wouldn't have to feel guilty anymore about not being able to give her children yet. Perfect solution, wasn't it?

Now if she could only get him to see it that way, too. Men could be so mulish sometimes. So old-fashioned, too. Was Zorro old-fashioned? Hardly, she thought. Sure, he behaved like an old school gentleman towards her, but he certainly broke the law a lot. Would he be equally willing to disregard the social laws of good behaviour?

And what if he _didn't_ understand? What if he got all jealous and angry about it?

She sighed. It was not going to be an easy talk. She almost hoped he would not show his face until Wednesday night, so she would have to convey the message in another way.

But the question remained: how?

* * *

Making love at night, by nothing but the silvery light of the moon, was a totally new experience. Her hair shone with the colour of ebony, and the V of luscious red roses he had laid out on her pillow tonight was now neatly entwined in her hair. Her skin was as snow in the pale light of the moon; her lips raspberry red. How he loved those lips – again and again and again he kissed them, softly, ardently, passionately. She was his for the whole night, and he had every intention of making the most of it.

Her thoughts seemed to be going in the same direction. Not a word was uttered in the moonlit room (apart from the occasional soft groan or gasp of pleasure), but it wasn't necessary. By now they knew exactly what the other wanted and needed to come to full fulfillment, and they played one another to absolute perfection.

He had lost all track of time. There was just Victoria – his Victoria, who kissed him, touched him, stroked him, caressed him, held him as they navigated their way towards absolute ecstasy. It was glorious, it was mind-blowing, it was...!

For a moment, the enchanting moonlight was blocked by a giant shadow jumping into the room, saying, "Buenas noches, Señorita." In a voice as calm as a cucumber.

"Zorro!" Victoria exulted.

Before he knew what happened, she pushed him out and off of her, and with a thud, he landed on the floor on the other side of the bed.

"I knew you would come!" he heard Victoria gush, and suddenly, the room was as bright as if the afternoon sun was shining straight through the thick adobe walls.

He blinked against the brightness, and pushed himself up on his knees. "Victoria?" He looked across the bed. And immediately wished he hadn't. But his eyes were glued to the scene on the other side of Victoria's bed.

Zorro. And Victoria. A naked Victoria. In Zorro's arms. Kissing each other senseless, groping and fondling and caressing each other, letting out those delighted little gasps and moans that she had shared with _him_ mere moments ago... It was sheer torture to watch, but his eyes refused to let go.

"Victoria?" he croaked. "Victoria, what are you doing?!"

But it was Zorro who answered him. "Sorry, amigo, but she's mine. She always will be."

"But... Victoria, we have a deal!" he cried.

"Yes, we do," she coolly agreed. "Don't worry, Don Diego. Our deal still stands. I need you to give me that child I've been yearning for. The child Zorro can't give me yet." She smiled up at her hero – radiant enough to sicken him. And then she frowned back at him. "Surely you didn't expect me to fall in love with you in the process? I mean – look at you!"

He looked down, and suddenly he realized that he was still in his birthday suit. Standing starknaked in front of his archrival. His fully dressed and armed and ever so dashing and debonair archrival, who was holding the beautiful and equally starknaked Victoria in his arms. _His_ Victoria!

He gulped. This couldn't be happening...

"I'm sorry, Don Diego," he heard Victoria's voice as from afar. "I didn't mean to get your hopes up. I thought you knew that I consider you just a friend. A dull and boring friend, yes, but a _good_ friend. My best friend even. But my heart belongs to Zorro. It always has, and it always will."

Zorro even winked at him – the bastard. "First come, first serve, amigo. Now, querida..." He turned back to the naked Victoria pressing herself up against his musculous body. "Shall we go for a ride in the moonlight? We'll just have to give the lancers the slip first, of course, but..."

"No problem," Victoria beamed at him. "You can do _anything_. I mean – you're Zorro! Oh... goodbye, Don Diego. See you at siesta tomorrow?"

Before lifting her up in his arms, Zorro saluted him – almost mockingly, he thought. "Adios, amigo." And with that, he stepped onto the window sill and jumped out of the window. By the sound of it, he landed straight on Toronado's back – he recognized that particular whinny all too well. And then there were flying hooves disappearing into the distance.

Wait a moment – hadn't _he_ come here on Toronado tonight? Then how...?

Suddenly, the bedroom door was pulled wide open (hadn't he seen Victoria lock it tonight before they got into her bed?) and on the threshold appeared... Felipe. With the darkest glare he had ever seen from him, and carrying a giant bouquet consisting of a sunflower and daisies and poppies and lots of baby-breath and...

He felt himself blushing a fiery red, all the way from his crown to his toes. _Felipe_... This was even worse than facing Zorro starknaked.

Quickly, he groped for one of the bedsheets. But there were no bedsheets. Instead, Leonor's voice came floating to him from outside the window. "Look, Papà! Diego is in his birthday suit!" A giggle. "Doesn't he look funny?"

"No, he doesn't," his father's gruff voice replied. "Your brother is a disgrace to the De la Vega name, Leonor. He's a coward, a spineless good-for-nothing, an adulterer, a..."

"Look who's talking!" he retorted.

"Bah!" said Felipe from the doorway. "So much for all those good principles and honour and virtue you two are always going on about. And naïve as I was, I looked up to you, as my heroes, my role models!" He snorted disdainfully. "I see I had better set my sights elsewhere. Maybe the Alcalde would make a more honest rolemodel for me to follow." And he turned on his heel.

"Felipe, wait!" he cried. He couldn't bear losing Felipe, too!

Felipe, the only person with whom he could be himself.

Felipe, his only refuge from the perpetual contempt and ridicule.

Felipe kept him sane.

And he was suddenly terrified that he might lose himself completely if he lost Felipe's friendship – his loyalty, his love, his camaraderie, his... well, admiration... He...

Wait.

He said...

 _Felipe_ said...

? ? ?

I must be dreaming.

It must be a dream.

He forced his mind back to consciousness and opened his eyes.

It was dark, but there was no doubt that he was in his own bedroom in the hacienda. In his own bed. Tangled up in his own nightshirt and sheets. With the pale moonlight casting a beam across the marble floor towards the oak cabinet in the corner.

He closed his eyes again for a moment.

It was just a dream.

Just a nightmare.

But what a nightmare...


	2. Chapter 2

"Right. Now all we have to do is wait." Carefully, Diego put down the glass beker with the mixture he'd been stirring, and took out his pocket watch. "I have some errands to run in the pueblo anyway. So let's leave this till tonight and see how it turns out."

" _Shall I come with you?"_ Felipe signed.

"To the pueblo? Thank you for offering, Felipe, but no. I just have some work to do for the next issue of The Guardian. Besides, it was awfully late last night. You better have a proper siesta."

Felipe glowered at him. _"It was just as late for you. Besides, I'm not a little kid anymore."_

Diego smiled despite himself. "I know, I know. But I'm afraid that deep down, you'll always be 'little Felipe' to me."

Felipe rolled his eyes, and Diego tucked away his pocket watch.

" _So can I come with you?"_ Felipe insisted.

Diego shook his head. "Some other time, amigo. You really look like you could do with a quiet siesta."

" _I'm_ not _tired!"_

"Then I'm sure you can find more fun ways to spend the afternoon than hanging around the office watching me proofread." Diego patted his shoulder. "The work I'm planning to do really doesn't require your help – I'm sorry. So you had better enjoy your afternoon off, okay?"

Felipe gave him that dark puppy-dog look that said he didn't like being left out. But Diego put his arm around his shoulders and began to lead him towards the cave's exit in the library. "Actually, if you're not tired, this might be a good time to work on your physics project. Remember what I told you the other day?"

Diego kept talking as they entered the library and continued on outside to the stables. But Felipe had tuned out. For this was what... the fourth time? The fifth? Recently, Diego had been going to town _a lot_ for siesta. That was already odd in itself, especially after a night like this when it had been past two o'clock in the morning before he had gotten back from Zorro's exploits. For years, the siesta after such a late night had been practically sacrosanct – Zorro couldn't afford to lose his vigilance due to a severe lack of sleep. And now...?

But what really bothered him was the fact that Diego had a million excuses every time to make sure he didn't come along to town. He enjoyed going to the pueblo as much as the next young man, even if it was a sleepy pueblo at siesta time. Perhaps what Diego really wanted was to be alone; that was something he could understand. But why go to town when you want to be alone? And why didn't he simply _say_ so?

No. Felipe had the distinct impression that Diego was keeping something from him. And after all they'd been through together – with secrets, charades, danger and stress – after all those years of being his trusted, his _only_ confidant, it really hurt to be left out. It hurt deep to think that Diego could be keeping a secret from _him_.

So he silently helped Diego to saddle Esperanza, and merely raised his hand at his parting greeting.

And the very moment Diego disappeared around the corner of the hacienda, he turned around to saddle his own horse.

For a few minutes he kept watch from behind the hacienda wall. There was no doubt about it: Diego was going to the pueblo. And as soon as he was out of sight, Felipe spurred his horse on to go after him.

It wasn't far to the pueblo, and riding fast, he reached the gate within minutes. The plaza was already deserted in the burning afternoon heat, and he immediately spotted Esperanza in the shade of the town's stables. So Diego was indeed in town. Then let's find out what secret activities he was up to in The Guardian's office.

Felipe steered his mount to the stables as well, and tethered him next to Diego's. He made sure the animal had hay and water within reach, and then he crossed the plaza to go and check the tiny newspaper office. Or rather: he stealthily stole around the plaza, staying close to the buildings until he reached The Guardian's office.

What now? Just try the door and barge in? Or sneak a look through the window? The latter was more his style, so he crept to the side window and glanced inside. And raised his eyebrows in surprise – the one-room office lay deserted.

He crouched back down. Where was Diego? And why was he lying? He certainly wasn't busy proofreading as he said.

Felipe frowned. This was a serious situation. If Zorro was needed – and that was usually a situation where time was of the essence – he'd have no idea where to look for him. He could hardly go around the plaza and wake everyone from siesta to ask if Diego happened to be there.

This really merited further investigation. He'd definitely have to _ask_ later what he'd been up to this afternoon and why he hadn't gone to the office as he had said he would. But for now all he could do was keep watch. With Esperanza in the stables and very little headstart, chances were that Diego was indeed in town. He'd have to show up again sooner or later.

Perhaps he had gone to the tavern? Despite it being closed for siesta, it was actually the only plausible alternative Felipe could think of. So he crossed the plaza again and peered through a crack in the closed shutters. He couldn't oversee the entire room from here, but the part he saw lay as quiet and deserted as the plaza. No Diego. And no Victoria. Not even a sound.

He turned back and leaned against the wall. This was a fine mess. Diego had disappeared to heaven-knows-where, and on top of that, he was lying to _him_ , his trusted confidant of years! What the heck was going on here?!

Determined to get to the bottom of this – _Diego must have a good reason to keep secrets from me, but I'd rather he'd acknowledge that need to me!_ – he decided to make himself comfortable on the porch of the tavern to await Diego's reappearance from wherever he'd gone. He pulled one of the wooden chairs into the shade of the balcony, and sat down on it, leaning back against the wall. From here he could oversee most of the plaza, so when Diego showed up, he'd at least have some clue as to where he could have been and what he'd been up to.

But the sun was hot. The plaza simmered. The night had been too short. And before long, and despite his struggle to keep his eyes open, Felipe was quietly snoring away.

* * *

Diego started slightly as he came around the corner of the church to cross the silent plaza to go to The Guardian's office. Was that... What was Felipe doing, dozing on the tavern's porch? Was there trouble?

He all but ran over to him and shook him awake. "Felipe! What's wrong?"

A bewildered Felipe jerked upright.

"What's wrong?" Diego urged. "Is there trouble?" If Zorro had been needed while he was with Victoria...!

But Felipe shook his head. _"Where were you?"_ he signed nonetheless. _"You weren't in the office!"_

A sigh of relief. "No, I went to ask Victoria something first and... well, we got talking." His insides churned at the ease with which he was now lying even to his trusted young confidant, but he couldn't tell the boy that... He'd be horrified! Felipe's searching gaze made him even more uncomfortable, so he quickly inquired, "So why did you come looking for me? Is something the matter?"

Felipe hesitated a moment; then he shook his head. _"You said I should enjoy my afternoon. And I decided I wanted to spend it with you, even if it meant watching you proofread copy for The Guardian. But you weren't there."_ Maybe there was nothing to it after all. Diego's explanation of ending up talking with Victoria was perfectly plausible after all. At least he _wanted_ it to be perfectly plausible, but... _"I didn't see you two in the tavern though,"_ he added. _"I looked."_

Diego laughed a little – it sounded rather embarrassed to his own ears. "No, we ended up in the kitchen." The window there was so high that it was unlikely for Felipe to have taken the trouble to climb up there just to take a look. And fortunately, the boy seemed to accept the story. So he pulled him to his feet. "Come on, let's get to The Guardian's office and see if we can finally get some work done."

* * *

"Your beauty, Señorita, as always brightens our humble pueblo." With a flourish and the familiar handkiss, he took his usual hurried leave. And she watched him as he jumped up on Toronado's back, saluted the crowd and under deafening cheers made for the pueblo gate.

"After him!" the Alcalde bellowed as usual, and as usual, a number of lancers ran to get their horses and rifles to pursue the town's masked hero. To no avail as usual – by the time they reached the pueblo gate, Zorro was long gone. As usual.

And she sighed as she turned back to her tavern. This was the third time this week. The third time of Zorro coming into the pueblo to thwart the Alcalde's schemes or to deliver some bandits to jail. And invariably he sought her out in the crowd, with a smile, a few romantic words, a kiss on her hand.

But as usual, it was all going much too fast. Much too fast to even ask him to come to the tavern that evening because she needed to talk to him. And tomorrow was Wednesday! Would she be forced to cancel her... well, _appointment_ with Don Diego? Or would Zorro finally show up at her door that night? He was just so unpredictable...!

But apparently Fate – or Zorro himself, albeit unwittingly – took pity on her, for that evening after she had locked the doors of the tavern, she found him waiting for her in her kitchen.

"Zorro!"

"Señorita," he murmured before pressing a passionate kiss on her hand. And with soft, dreamy eyes that never let go of hers, he continued, "It's been far too long since I held you in my arms..."

Victoria gulped, and absentmindedly put away a bundle of spices. "Yes. You're always in such a hurry when you come to town..." Her voice trailed off a bit. This was the perfect occasion to tell him – but what should she say? The absolute last thing she wanted was to ruin her passionate relationship with Zorro!

"I'm not in a hurry now," Zorro was saying as he took a step closer to her.

"What – no lancers aiming at your back? No Alcalde trying to run you through?" she teased.

But it sounded strained to her own ears, and obviously, Zorro heard it, too. For he cocked his head and asked, "What is wrong, Victoria? You seem... preoccupied tonight."

"Nothing!" she said in a voice that was slightly too shrill. "Nothing is wrong. It's just..."

"What?" he prompted gently as she fell silent.

She kept her eyes averted. "It's just..." A deep breath for courage. "You know that I love you, don't you."

He smiled – that bright smile of his that she loved so much. "Your love, Señorita, is the sole fuel of my existence."

She gave him a nervous grimace in return. "Yeah, well..." A sigh. "I... It's just..." Dammit, she couldn't _do_ this! She couldn't just tell him... he'd be devastated! Or furious, or... or deeply disappointed with her... or all of the above! She couldn't endanger what they had together – their love, their future... Face it: she needed his love as much as he needed hers! But then how...?

Zorro was still watching her with that patient, loving, but mildly worried look that he seemed to reserve for her alone.

And suddenly the words came to her – a godsend perhaps? "You know I love it when you come and see me in private at night."

His smile broadened somewhat, and with a genuine smile of her own, she closed the distance between them and placed her hands on his chest. For a moment, he seemed to oddly stiffen, but then he put his arms around her waist in return.

"I love it when you come and see me at night," she repeated. "But lately... I really think it would be better – for both of us, I mean – if you limited those private visits to the kitchen."

His eyes widened a bit – he probably raised his eyebrows under the mask. "The kitchen?! Why? I thought you liked finding roses on your pillow."

"I do, but..." She rubbed his chest a little, and let one hand crawl up to the exposed skin of his neck.

He shivered, and caught her hand in his. "Querida..."

But her other hand already began to seek its way into the neckopening of his shirt. Odd idea that her experience with Don Diego would one day be the basis for her love-making with Zorro. Two such total opposites of men... For a moment, she wondered what making love with Zorro would be like. Don Diego was actually pretty amazing at it now that they had gotten over their initial awkwardness, but of course she had nothing to compare it with. And even if she was unable to imagine how, no doubt that Zorro's love-making would be far more exciting than Don Diego's!

"Victoria..." came Zorro's voice again, hoarsely interrupting her thoughts as he caught her other other hand as well and pulled them both away from his exposed neck.

Victoria forced herself to get back on track. And the next move sure wasn't difficult. "I want you," she breathed huskily, her eyes burning into his. "I know we can't – not yet – but I _want_ you... So badly..."

He brought both her hands to his lips and kissed them. "I know," he said softly. "I know, Victoria. Nothing haunts me more than my passionate longing to make you mine – and the knowledge that there is no telling when I will finally be able to make that dream come true. We simply _must_ restrain ourselves, no matter how difficult it may be."

"That's what I mean," she murmured. "Lately when you climb into my bedroom, all I can think of is getting you in my bed." A touch of naughty amusement flitted across his features, but she continued, "I'm afraid... I'm afraid that one of these days I won't be able to control my passion any longer. Especially in there, with my bed ready to receive you..."

Zorro pulled her close. It felt oddly familiar, as if she knew that embrace. (But of course she did – after all, this was Zorro.) "Oh querida," he was saying over her shoulder. "Fate is truly cruel to us, isn't it."

"Fate and the Alcalde," she corrected him, and she felt him chuckle against her chest.

"That's my Victoria – always the pragmatist." He let go of her and instead took her by her arms again. "So what are you saying – I should stay out of your bedroom?"

She nodded. "I really think it would be for the best. Well, for now at least," she amended quickly, eliciting another chuckle from him.

"Yes, I would hope that one day..."

"One day we will be able to give into our passion and make love on my bed till we can't see straight anymore," she promised.

His eyes lit up with that irresistible twinkle that she loved so much. "I look forward to it," he said, and kissed her hand again.

"As do I," she beamed back at him. "But until then, I think we should have our nightly rendezvous somewhere away from my bed. To avoid temptation."

"The kitchen it is then," he agreed, and took her in his arms again. "Although I'm sure I can get up to a lot of mischief here in the kitchen as well!" And with that, he cupped her face in his hands and pulled her in for a kiss so passionate, that once he let go, there simply were no words to say.

Instead, he left by the high kitchen window.

* * *

Outside, Zorro leaned against the tavern wall for a moment, carefully blending into the shadows. Good heavens, this was going to be much more difficult than he thought!

He took a couple of deep breaths, to try and calm down his racing heart, as well as some excited other parts of his body. Clearly, now that he had tasted love-making with Victoria, even a simple touch of hers could set him on fire. The problem being of course that he had to adjust to a drastic role switch. From now on, Diego was the one who had a regular outlet for their desire. And to prevent Victoria from making the connection, the previously more romantic Zorro now had to keep a tight rein on his passion to make sure that he would not go any further with her than he used to do. With the way he now reacted to her mere touch, that was likely to become the hardest part of his charade so far...

He sighed, and shook his head. What was it Confucius wrote somewhere? _Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated._ Well, he sure was a prime example of that...

.

.

 _Author's note: I apologize if that quote is misquoted – I just went looking for something suitable on the internet :-)_


End file.
